Kaoru's Problem
by Hitora Gin
Summary: Kaoru's getting fat 'cos she's been eating so much and she doesn't realise it. Find out what she does to change and how it affects her.


Kaoru's Problem  
  
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin doesn't belong to me but to Nobuhiro Watsuki and other related companies. I am merely borrowing them for the use of my fanfiction.  
  
It was another typical day at the Kamiya Dojo.  
  
"HAI! HAI! HAI!"  
  
We can hear the voices of Kaoru and Yahiko training. Wait a minute… that's only Yahiko's voice! Where's Kaoru?  
  
"Pigging out. She won't even give me a bite," grumbled Sanosuke, rubbing his stomach.  
  
Here in the dining room, we see Kaoru as Sano said.  
  
"What did he say?" Kaoru asked, her mouth full.  
  
"Uh… nothing!"  
  
Off to the kitchen we go and we see Kenshin, the hero of our story, toiling over the  
  
stove.  
  
"Kenshin, aren't your main duties to protect the ones you love and doing the laundry?"  
  
Kenshin looks up with a smile.  
  
"Hai. Sessha does that, and to make Kaoru-dono happy, sessha also does the cooking," he says.  
  
Oookay… let's leave them to themselves.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Kaoru-dono! Sessha has more food!" Kenshin announced.  
  
"Oh good, Kenshin!" Kaoru said, grabbing the plate out of Kenshin's hands and stuffing the contents into her mouth.  
  
"Delicious! You must teach me how to cook someday," she said happily.  
  
"No matter how much you learn, your cooking will never be edible," Yahiko sniggered, as he enters the room. He reaches for a riceball but Kaoru slaps his hand away.  
  
"Itai!" Yahiko hollered.  
  
"Haha, tough luck, twerp," Sano said. He managed to get the last riceball before Kaoru could get to it.  
  
"Anyway Jou-chan, how are you supposed to learn how to cook if you keep pigging out?" Sano asked with a sly smile.  
  
"I DO NOT pig out!" Kaoru protested.  
  
Kaoru suddenly realized that Kenshin was looking at her with a frown on his face.  
  
"Daijoubu, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked, hesitantly.  
  
Kenshin's expression quickly changed and he gave her a smile.  
  
"Hai, nothing to worry about, Kaoru-dono…" Kenshin said quickly.  
  
"Of course there's something, Kenshin. Come on! Spill it out! New bad guys to fight? Did Saitou want you to do something for him? Jou-chan being fat?" Sano interrupted.  
  
"NANI?" Kaoru shouted.  
  
Kenshin looked at her guiltily whereas Sano and Yahiko laughed out loud.  
  
Kaoru looked as though she was about to cry. Tears started to fill her eyes. She stood up too quickly that she stumbled, causing the dishes to crash to the floor. She hurried to her room and slid the door shut. There, she let her tears flow freely.  
  
"Kaoru-dono, may I come in?" Kenshin asked from outside her room.  
  
Kaoru could see his silhouette from inside.  
  
"No! You stay where you are or I won't come out ever again," she said stubbornly.  
  
She saw his silhouette put a hand to the door and she held her breath. She saw his hand drop to his side in defeat and left. Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief and stared at the paper door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"How long has Jou-chan been in there?" Sano asked.  
  
"Days," Kenshin mumbled miserably. "She only comes out when she needs to go to the bathroom. She won't let me come in and sessha does't want to make her angry. Sessha cooked all her favourite dishes but she still won't let me talk to her."  
  
"BAKA!" Sano said, giving Kenshin a punch to bring him back to his senses. "Kenshin, Jou-chan is fat! Do you think giving her more food will help her become slimmer?!" Sano asked.  
  
"It's all your fault anyway, Kenshin. Now I can't have any lessons," Yahiko complained.  
  
"Sessha thinks that if both of you did not laugh at her, she wouldn't mind being a little round," Kenshin said, a matter-of-factly.  
  
"Are you kidding?! She's not a little round!! She's like a hippo! You shouldn't have fed her so much, Kenshin!" Sano said.  
  
"Sessha was only trying to make Kaoru-dono happy," Kenshin said sadly, in deep regret.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Days passed and finally two weeks have gone by. Kenshin has been sleeping outside her room ever since her rebellion. The few times she came out, she ignored him completely. She did warn him during one of those days that he was not allowed to look at her at all.  
  
Kenshin obeyed her every command and was relieved when her door slid open one night and she called him.  
  
"Hai, Kaoru-dono?" he asked keeping his eyes to the ground.  
  
"You can look at me now," she said, sounding hopeful.  
  
Kenshin let his eyes wander up to her face. Her skin looked gloomy and her bright blue eyes no longer held their spark. Overall, her face looked tired and bony, and her body was shapeless, probably because she has not eaten for the past two weeks.  
  
"Kaoru-dono, sessha… sessha…" he started. His word were lost when he saw sadness in her eyes.  
  
"Kenshin… don't…" she said, tearfully. She suddenly collapsed.  
  
Kenshin caught her before she fell to the ground and gasped at how light she was.  
  
'Kaoru…'  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Megumi-dono! Megumi-dono!"  
  
"Ken-san, what is it?" Megumi asked. She looked up to see Kenshin looking very flushed with Kaoru in his arms.  
  
"Oh my goodness! Bring her here!"  
  
Megumi examined Kaoru, who laid on a futon, with Kenshin kneeling beside her, his eyebrows knitted in concern.  
  
"She starved herself, didn't she?" Megumi asked.  
  
Kenshin nodded glumly.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Megumi demanded.  
  
"Sessha stayed outside her room the whole time, Megumi-dono," Kenshin said defensively.  
  
"You'd better get something to eat before you end up like her, Ken-san," Megumi warned.  
  
"Sessha's used to it, Megumi-dono. Just take care of Kaoru for me. Please," Kenshin told her.  
  
"I'll do my best. You'd better leave and get something to eat," Megumi advised.  
  
"Hai. Sessha will be back," Kenshin informed her.  
  
"Like I don't know," Megumi said teasingly.  
  
Kenshin smiled and left.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Kenshin?" Kaoru called out in the dark.  
  
"Kaoru-chan, this is Megumi."  
  
"Megumi-san! Where am I?" she asked.  
  
"You're at the clinic," Megumi answered. "Kenshin brought you here. He was so worried about you. He carried you all the way here from the dojo," Megumi explained.  
  
"But that's so far! And I'm far too heavy!!" Kaoru sobbed.  
  
"Kamiya Kaoru! I'm ashamed at you! Look at you! Nothing but skin and bones, and you're calling yourself fat! What made you say such a thing?" Megumi scolded her.  
  
"Sano… he and Yahiko…" she managed to sob out.  
  
"And you listened to them?! Baka! Wait till I get my hands on them!" Megumi said her fists clenched. "Kaoru-chan, if you do get heavy, you cannot starve yourself! Never!" Megumi said. "Instead you should do more chores and train more."  
  
Kaoru gave her a weak smile.  
  
"Hai, Megumi-san. I'll do that," she said.  
  
"Kaoru-chan, I know you won't get so affected by those two bakas. Is it because of Kenshin too?" Megumi asked.  
  
Kaoru nodded. "He looked at me differently," Kaoru said, her eyes brimming with tears once again.  
  
"Kaoru! I can't believe that you can be as silly as Sanosuke and Yahiko!" Megumi said angrily.  
  
"Says who?!" Kaoru shouted angrily, already back to her usual self.  
  
"I'm glad to see you that you're acting more like yourself but I hate to see you think that Kenshin doesn't love you. He cares so much for you that I'm green with envy! He carried you here, slept outside your room, protected you and your dojo countless times, does the housework for you without complaining, Kaoru, are you blind?" Megumi asked, her eyes in slits.  
  
Kaoru bit back a retort when her eyes met Megumi's glare. Kaoru took a deep breath and Megumi sighed, thinking that Kaoru was going to complain.  
  
"Arigato, Megumi-san, Kaoru said, giving Megumi a hug.  
  
Megumi's eyes widened in surprise. "Not a problem, Kaoru-chan," she said, returning the hug.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
We return back to the Kamiya Dojo.  
  
Kaoru is in tip-top shape, practicing kendo with Yahiko.  
  
Sano is sitting and is staring at… nothing? Oh well. We don't expect much from Sano when he's at the dojo, do we?  
  
And Kenshin is doing the laundry.  
  
Now, THIS is a normal scene on a typical day at the Kamiya Dojo.  
  
~*OWARI*~  
  
Author's note: This is the first fic that I put up but it isn't the first that I wrote. Sorry if it stinks. 


End file.
